Akira Toriyama, Creator of Dragon Ball and character designer for Dragon Quest, has passed away

Dragon Ball social media announced in late March 7th that Akira Toriyama, best known as the creator of Dragon Ball and Dr. Slump, died on March 1st at the age of 68 due to an acute subdural hematoma.

Akira Toriyama has worked in several other media besides creating incredibly popular franchises. He is credited with character design for Dragon Quest from its beginning until his death, as well as for other popular games, like Chrono Trigger, and the design of original characters in the Dragon Ball games.

His unique art style and storytelling in Dragon Ball and Dr. Slump have influenced all kinds of different media; it can be seen in unexpected places, such as the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. While the connection between Super Sonic and Super Saiyan may be up for debate, there are undeniable inspirations, such as the title screen for the first two games resembling those of the Dr. Slump Anime or the whole concept behind Silver the Hedgehog being nearly the same as future Trunks' backstory.

Toriyama's creative output is ongoing, with the upcoming release of the Sand Land game and anime, both adapted from the manga of the same name. The anime will cover material not included in the 2023 movie and feature additional original content written by Akira Toriyama. There is also the Dragon Ball Daima anime, which will also be an entirely new story.

There is still no confirmation if his work will continue or up to which point. Considering that the manga was no longer drawn by him, Toriyama became the writer, giving the major plot points to the new artist, Toyotarou, who then drew the story. So we might see the current saga continue until its conclusion, though that would be up to whoever holds the rights to the franchise now.